Manufactures have continued to embrace wireless remote control technology for controlling a wide range of devices. This has resulted in having to keep and maintain multiple physical remote control devices throughout the home, each corresponding to a different device. One problem resulting from this proliferation of individual device remote controllers is that a user may have to sift through an assortment of remote controllers to find the right one to match to the device desired to be controlled at a given time. This matching process can be annoying due to limited identification labeling on device controllers, similar or the same labeling on different device controllers, miniaturization of device controllers, small letter size on a device controller label, and/or poor lighting conditions. Another problem is that with so many device controllers in a home there is a tendency to misplace one or more remote controllers resulting in loss of remote control capability on the corresponding device. In addition an individual has to maintain each of the multiple remote control devices periodically replacing batteries. Based on the above discussion there it should be appreciated that there has been a need for a device, e.g., remote control, with the capability to remotely control a wide range of different devices.
Attempts at implementing multi-device remote controls have meet with limited success. A major drawback of many, so called universal remote controls, is the need for a user of the remote control to enter a code corresponding to each individual device which is to be controlled. This often involves the user determining a code to be entered from a printed look-up table. Unfortunately, the original instructions and look-up table information corresponding to a remote control are often lost or unavailable when a new device is purchased. Even more frustrating is the case where a new device does not correspond to a device code identifier supported by the universal remote control since the new device supports functions or features for which control commands did not exist at the time the universal remote control was manufactured.
In order to address the problem of having to enter a device code into a remote control to set it to work with a particular device, some manufactures have introduced a code search feature into their universal remote controls. In such a case the user may have to point the universal remote control at the device to be controlled, initiate a code search option and then wait for the device to respond, e.g., by turning on or off. Once a device responds, the user attempting to set the universal remote to control the device may push a button or take some other action to indicate to the device that the universal remote was able to control the device. Unfortunately, this approach has the disadvantage of requiring user input to indicate that the device responded to the control. It also has the disadvantage that the wrong device code may be selected since the device may respond to more than one power on signal code and, while the on/off device function may work, the device code identified in such a manner may not correspond to the full feature set supported by the device, e.g., the fast forward control might not work properly even though the on/off function works.
A successful implementation of a multi-device remote control is complicated by the fact that throughout a home there may be a very large number of individual devices, e.g., televisions, digital video recorders, alarm systems, etc. to be remotely controlled. A user may move a remote control from one room to another. Given that the devices in the different rooms may, and often are, different, a remote control manually configured to work with the devices in one room may not work with the devices, in the other room since the control commands for the devices may be different even in the case where the types of devices are the same, e.g., televisions in different rooms may require use of different command signals or codes.
Thus, it should be appreciated that it would be desirable if a remote control could be configured in an automated fashion without the need for a user to enter a device code or indicate a response from a device to be controlled. Furthermore it would be advantageous if a single device could remotely control any of a large number of devices, yet automatically adapt its user interface to the current local device environment. It would also be desirable, if a remote control could be automatically updated, e.g., to allow for the generation of new command signals and/or the control of new devices with functions which may not have been present in devices at the time the remote control was originally manufactured.
In view of the above discussion it should be appreciated that there is a need for an improved remote control which overcomes one or more of the above discussed disadvantages of exiting remote control devices.